If you’ve recently decided to invest in an RV or Campervan, chances are you’ll be chomping at the bit to pack the family up and get on the road. You might be looking for a quiet and cathartic on the road experience, your partner possibly wants a relaxing road trip, and your kids are probably looking for fun, fun, fun. So how can you make this sort of holiday accessible and enjoyable for all of you? With these top tips, you’ll be sure to have a family adventure you can look back on with fond memories.
Plan Your Journey Effectively
Nothing is going to dampen the spirits of your fellow adventurers like driving in circles and arguing over age old maps and how to read them. It might seem like a traditional and old school method of planning your trip by sitting and plotting your journey on points of the map, however it’s not advisable when there are so many alternatives nowadays. By using technology such as satnavs and google maps on your smart phone, you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle and petrol money. This is especially helpful if you’re planning on a longer-term holiday and going from place to place. All you’ll need is the address or postcode of your desired locations ready to type into whatever form of navigation you’re using, and you’re good to go!
Ensure Comfort
If you’re spending a lot of time both on the road, and static in your RV, you’ll want to ensure that it’s comfortable for all of the family. If it’s summertime, installing air conditioning into your vehicle and investing in some light blocking curtains is a must for ensuring you all of your comforts, and seeing that you’ll get a good night’s sleep. On this sort of holiday, ensuring quality of sleep is a must – because realistically crabby moods when you’re altogether 24/7 are a no go. Chances are the mattresses readily provided in your RV aren’t top speck, and they might be manageable for a night or two but for nothing longer term, so they’ll need to be replaced. Look for a buyer’s guide to RV mattresses to ensure that you get the best deals and quality of mattresses.
Take Plenty of Entertainment
Holidays are for down time and enjoying each other’s company, however realistically your kids (and you!) will need some space to chill out away from each other. Take a good collection of your kids’ favourite books, games and toys. You could even consider taking a portable DVD player and some of their favourite films along with you, so that they can have movie nights when you’re relaxing with your feet up and a glass of wine. Perfect!
Make a Project Out of It
We record memories all of the time with the easy use of our smartphones, but what about creating a physical keepsake from this family adventure that you can all do together and keep for years to come? Creating a scrapbook of memories as you go can be a great and creative activity for all of the family to get involved in. Instead of making it exclusively of photographs, why not collect tickets, leaflets, and souvenirs from along the way to stick down? Encourage your kids to sit down at the end of each day and note down their favourite memories from the holiday, and you do the same. You can add photographs you’ve taken later.
Be Prepared for all Weathers
If you’re sticking to the UK, unfortunately you can’t expect it’ll be glorious sunshine throughout the holiday. If you’re very lucky, you’ll get some good weather, however it’s a good idea to prepare for the rainier days too, so make a Plan B of activities just in case. These activities don’t have to be exclusively indoors, so remember to pack accordingly for this, a little bit of rain never hurt anyone! Just as you do at home, you’ll all need access to an array of different wardrobe items, such as summer clothes and hats, woolly hats and scarves, waterproofs and wellies. Weather in the UK is so unpredictable, it’s best to prepare in advance for all circumstances.
Safety Rules
Last of all, but certainly not least, remember to teach your children about how to play and live safely when you’re on a motorhome holiday. Before setting off, make a point of teaching your kids important safety aspects, such as staying well clear of the gas source, electricity points and any heating or cooking controls. A safe holiday is a happy holiday.
